Benny from Boneshaker Choppers in the Midlands is a bit of a legend on the UK custom scene, and has been building bikes of all kinds for a while, but Boneshaker are mostly known for their choppers, so we were happily surprised when Benny sent us this scrambler/brat style 125, which looks like a mini Triumph Bonneville. We’re always going on about the fact that the scene needs more small capacity cool rides, and this bike fits the bill perfectly, so we asked Benny for the full lowdown on how it came about.
“I’ve never professed to be a bike builder, I never really wanted to be one either. I just couldn’t ever find bikes that I wanted to buy and the only way I could get the bike I wanted was to put it together myself, those initial thoughts were some 22 years ago and from that stemmed a business that has been my life for the past 15 years, a business that caters for people who want a motorcycle they can’t buy anywhere else, from café racers, to period choppers and traditional bobbers.”
“The Mutt came about for exactly these reasons, my love is old Harley choppers but I love motorcycles of all kinds; that is ‘motorcycles’ of all kinds, not two wheeled vehicles.. I hate modern scooters with a passion, I hate the way they sound and I hate the way they look which got me thinking why doesn’t anyone make a cool small cc bike? So I got to work.”
“I wanted to offer a bike that was still somewhat of a ‘custom’ but I also wanted it to be accessible, I’m used to building bikes that command high price tags mainly because of the parts but of course also due to the amount of hours they take to build, the Mutt had to be cheap, fun and kinda groovy.”
“I’d read some great reviews on the HMC Classic 125 which is a cool little bike loosely based on triumph styling, after checking them out in person (60mph flat on the tank) I decided these were the way to go, these bikes are very well designed and built bikes in the first place, all I needed to do was give them a bit more style and clean a few loose ends up.”
“Briefly the changes we make comprise of the rear wheel being relaced to an 18”, Dunlop 4.00 x18 tyres front and back, U.S style triumph bars, Beston grips, new paint, alloy mudguards, a flexi rear light and a new exhaust system with Burgess style silencer. You think 125’s sound like a fart in a tin can? Not this puppy, it’s got a nice thump to it and the bike is physically bigger than the average 125.”
“The Mutt isn’t necessarily a bike aimed at learners and 17 year olds, it is designed to be a cool small cc bike, easy to handle, maintenance free and accessible, a cool commuter and not too serious but hopefully with a bit more style than the majority of 125’s on the market.”
“I’m sure people will have to have their comments on this machine and compare it to this and that but the ethos of this bike is that it isn’t pretending to be anything it’s not ( aside from the obvious Triumph influences of course…) it’s not pretending to be cutting edge design and fabrication, it’s not trying to compete with hand built specials, it’s cheap, it’s fun so love it or hate it for what it is…”
We think bikes like this are exactly what the doctor ordered, and we hope to see planty of them out there on the street. Find out more on Benny’s new Mutt website.
Thanks to Benny for sharing, and thanks to Sam Christmas for the photos.
